Elena Navarro, the bridal designer who has conquered Zaragoza with her bold and unique style

Elena wasn’t born surrounded by fabrics, nor did she dream of sewing dresses as a child. Her calling, like the best stories, found her little by little over time—just like that kind of love you didn’t know you were waiting for. “I studied tourism, because I’ve always loved to travel, I’m a very active person […] and at that age, you don’t really know where to go yet,” she recalls. And although she once imagined herself managing a hotel in the Caribbean, life had other plans.

She entered the world of events, and it was there, organizing weddings as a planner, that something began to click. That’s when she realized something was missing: “I saw that all the brides I was planning weddings for kept asking me: ‘Elena, where can I buy my shoes? I have to go to Madrid or Barcelona because I can’t find anything beautiful.’ And I thought: this can’t be. There has to be a go-to place in Zaragoza where they can come and find these things. Besides, I’ve always been obsessed with shoes…” And so Love Story was born: her boutique, her refuge, and her brave commitment to making an already emotional process even more beautiful.

Vestido de novia diseñado por Elena Navarro - @elenanavarroatelier

With the unconditional support of her husband—“He always encourages me in everything”—and the determination of someone who knows that passion is also built, Elena organized everything on her own. When she showed him the project, he was speechless: “His jaw dropped. He said, ‘Wait, you were serious about this?’ And that’s when we opened the boutique in 2015, ten years ago.” Since then, Love Story hasn’t stopped growing and becoming part of real love stories.

They started by working with brides—both wedding planning and accessories—but always in a very personalized way: “I worked with different shoe and headpiece brands, but in the end, I was the one designing the models we sold here. They were exclusive to Love Story.” And then, almost unintentionally, came the dresses: at first as a multi-brand store, but with time—and with the experience of co-designing unique pieces with her brides—she realized she was ready to take the next step: “So I did a master’s in fashion design and took sewing and pattern-making classes to have all the necessary knowledge.” Finally, in 2019, she launched her first original collection under the name Elena Navarro Atelier.

Detalles de un vestido de novia diseñado por Elena Navarro - @elenanavarroatelier

“Everything we do, we do the way we believe it should be done: by putting in the hours, learning, working hard, through trial and error,” she confesses. Because if there’s one thing that defines Elena, it’s her humility. She knows she’s not a seamstress—but she has the vision, and a team that brings the dresses to life: “To be a haute couture seamstress, you have to spend your whole life sewing. I have a team that is the one actually making the dresses.”

Her team, made up of seamstresses she describes as “absolute stars”, brings each design to life while she oversees the process with a sharp eye and a big heart. Because in her atelier, it’s not about selling a dress—it’s about walking alongside a woman on one of the most important days of her life. Every Elena Navarro design carries that innate sensitivity to know what suits each bride, how to make a dress speak without saying a word: “We want them to feel at ease, to know that everything can be changed or undone. That they enjoy the process.”

Vestido de novia diseñado por Elena Navarro - @elenanavarroatelier

For Elena, the ideal bride isn’t the one who follows the rules—but the one who dares to break them:
“I always champion that kind of fashion, that bold bride. Take a risk, wear something different, feel like yourself. When they come and ask: ‘But what’s the protocol for a wedding dress?’ I say: ‘There is no protocol!’ […] We’re living in a time where you, the bride, get to decide how you want to look.”

Among her most memorable creations is, without a doubt, the famous guipure cape she designed for Andrea: “We made her a very simple slip dress and a spectacular guipure cape/blouse. I think it was made from seven different types of guipure that I collected all over Spain—every trip I took, I’d visit all the fabric stores to find guipures that matched the pattern and color I had in mind.” That cape, stitched together like delicate patchwork, became an inspiration for many other brides and marked a turning point for her brand.

Because what sets Elena’s work apart is her ability to create truly unique pieces, born from listening, from respecting each woman’s identity, and from a calm sensitivity. “Almost all our brides want that extra piece they can later take off to feel more comfortable. And we make beautiful things—embroidered, simple, but always special.”

Vestido de novia diseñado por Elena Navarro - @elenanavarroatelier

The creative process usually starts nine months to a year before the wedding. After taking measurements and defining details, the first fitting takes place about three or four months before the big day: “It’s the most technical one, maybe the least exciting for the bride—but for us, it’s the most important. That’s when we see how the design adapts to her silhouette and finalize the details.”

And although they’ve dressed so many brides in Zaragoza and beyond, today they serve clients from all over Spain—and even abroad—while Elena still gets emotional with each story: “The most special moment is when they choose the dress. Some come to you because they already know they want you to make it. It’s beautiful. Sometimes they cry—or their mothers discreetly wipe away tears. It’s so touching.”Also when, months or years later, they return with wedding photos or to introduce their babies: “It’s a very special bond, as if we accompanied them beyond the wedding day.”

When asked about her favorite moment of the big day, she’s clear: “The bride’s entrance. That moment when she’s finally revealed. When she walks in—it’s so emotional for the couple… That look they share, when they realize: ‘We’re getting married.’ That, for me, is the most powerful connection of the whole day.” After a decade at the helm of Love Story, Elena knows exactly what she wants next: for her brand to grow.“I want my brand to be sold nationally and internationally. That’s the next step I want to take—to have my designs in multi-brand stores. It’s another kind of visibility.”

And if she could speak to her younger self—the girl studying tourism without knowing she’d end up designing dreams—she’d say just one thing: “Go for every project and every idea that comes to your mind. Anything is possible.”